HW1_exer1
Group9
9/4/2020
Exercise 1
Introduction
Ana Gabriela Itokazu š¬
āThe price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.ā
ā Thoreau (1993)
Ā Ā Ā Ā I have been working around algae since the my Bachelorās second year. At first, I got tangled in the taxonomy and systematics i.e. why we name each algae the way we do, and why that species is not another. Generally, it is a dreary task. We go over long keys, spend hours leaning on a microscope crossing eyes, only to get to the conclusion that āyep, not the same algaā. But we do bump into some beauties. To make sure I had the right (or the wrong) one, Iād go over several books and keys, looking for images like the one in Figure 1, for example.
Figure 1. This is one of the first drawings ever made of a Cladophora, from KĆ¼tzing (1843).
Ā Ā Ā Ā Later on, I changed subjects to applied biotechnology, where I played around with toxicology, remediation, pollutant removal, and fell in love with ecological restoration. My undergraduate research advisor, Dr.Ā Leonardo Rorig got a grant to prospect algal species for heavy metal removal. After I graduated, I got into the Biotechnology Graduate Program, and started researching with Algal Turf Scrubber Systems (ATS) for nutrient removal and restoration. ATS is a fairly simple system, with a screen placed on top of a flowlane to providing a physical substratum for algae to attach, and grow. Some people maintain similar systems as a hobby to keep the health of their aquaria at home (see the video by the end of this section)! The goal species vary from filamentous to leafy-like algae, and the optimum for my setup were filamentous macroalgae species, such as Ulva intestinalis (see Figure 2). We got to study the succession of algae communities, all the way from an algal-bacterial biofilm, to dense turf-like mats of filamentous algae.
Figure 2. Much better than other peopleās algae, it is your own.
Ā Ā Ā Ā During the Latin-American Congress on Sea Sciences (2017) that I had the honor to help organize, Dr.Ā David Blersch went to Brazil to give a talk and contribute in one of the panel sessions. There, we had the opportunity show him the research we were doing and talk about a possible position as research assistant at Auburn University. We coordinated, and I applied for the Ph.D.Ā program in Biosystems Engineering - which was scary because Iām no engineer, but then I got accepted and I was like
Ā Ā Ā Ā For the first couple semesters here, I had to take engineering core courses, such as calculus, thermodynamics, and mechanics of materials, but now my life looks like the table below, and it is pretty nice indeed.
| Classes | Time |
|---|---|
| STAT 6250 - R Programming for Data Science | MWF 14h-14h50 |
| BSEN 6250 - Deterministic Modeling | T 12h-14h50 Th 9h-11h50 |
| COMP 6130 - Data Mining | MWF 13h-13h50 |
Ā Ā Ā Ā In fact, this document is for STAT 6250, as part of our first homework. And now Iām done! š š I still need to go ahead and finish the second part, but you know how we feel about homeworkā¦
(But hey, donāt forget to click below and watch the DIY Algal Turf Scrubber!)
Cary Burdick
āI see now that the circumstances of oneās birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.ā
ā Yuyama (1998)
Hi there, Iām Cary. Iām from Mobile, AL, the original birthplace of Mardi Gras āļø. Mardi Gras has always been a big holiday in my family. We gather a bunch of friends and family, make a potluck feast of food with plenty of King Cake, and map out the routes of the parades so we can watch them multiple times and maximize the amount of beads and Moon Pies we catch. I always make a point to visit during this time, even when Iām busy with school. Iām still holding out hope that itāll happen next February, but weāll have to see if the pandemic allows it.
A King Cake adorned with the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold.
Iām currently enrolled in the Data Science Masterās Program at Auburn. Itās a new program that just started in the Fall 2019 semester and it lasts three semesters, so Iāll be part of the first cohort to graduate with the degree. I also attended Auburn from 2014-2018 and received my undergraduate degree in Business Analytics, so Iāve been in Auburn for quite some time now. My final semester is pretty busy, and my class schedule is listed below:
| Course | Time |
|---|---|
| STAT 6210 R Programming for Data Science | 2:00pm - 2:50pm MWF |
| STAT 7940 Capstone Project | 1:00pm - 2:15pm T - 11:00am - 12:15pm R |
| COMP 6600 Artificial Intelligence | 2:00pm - 3:15pm TR |
In addition to taking these classes, I also work in the Business Analytics departent as a Graduate Assistant, and Iām working remotely as a part-time employee of Truist Bank š¦ in the Model Risk Management department. Needless to say, Iāve got a busy schedule:
